FIRST Robotics Competition
From DEW Robotics
The FIRST Robotics Competition is the highest-level robotics league in the US FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization.
US FIRST Robotics
FIRST is an international organization, founded in 1989 by renowned inventor Dean Kamen and MIT Professor Woodie Flowers. It reaches over 196,000 students, 53,000 adult mentors, and 32,000 event volunteers. It includes five programs:
* FIRST Robotics Competition (high school)
* FIRST Tech Challenge (high school)
* FIRST LEGO League (9 to 14 year olds)
* Junior FIRST LEGO League (6 to 9 year olds)
* FIRST Place (6 and older)
They included a total 17,594 teams with 16,374 robots in 2009. [1]
FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)
Currently, Downingtown Area Robotics participates in the FIRST Robotics Competition program through Downingtown East and Downingtown West High Schools. (The Team started a FIRST LEGO League club at Lionville Elementary School in the 2009-2010 school year.)
The FRC game (See Past FRC Games on the FRC Team 1640 page) is announced every year on the first Saturday in January, and teams have until the Tuesday after President's day to prototype, design, build, program, wire, test, practice with, and ship to FIRST a robot capable of playing that year's game. Robots may weigh up to 120lbs without battery and bumpers and can usually be up to five feet tall. For $6,000 teams are provided a kit of parts which includes the standardized controller (National Instruments' cRio) motors, and batteries, as well as helpful electrical and mechanical parts. However, teams are free to use many off-the-shelf parts from industry and local suppliers. This offers students experience in complex material selection, computer0-aided design (CAD), analysis, fabrication, machining, welding, polycarbonate forming, and countless other skills. Downingtown Area Robotics has been playing FRC for five years now and students have continued to gain more and more advanced skills through the program.
In 2009, FRC had 42,075 high school students on 1,643 teams in 48 US states, plus Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Turkey, and the U.K. It held 40 Regional events in the U.S., Canada, and Israel; seven District competitions and one State Championship in Michigan.[1]
